The 2023 Cup Series season has eventually reached its closing chapters. It is a matter of the last few races before the champion is decided, as NASCAR enthusiasts also look forward to the next season. However, to state the facts with no holds barred, racing in the ongoing season has lacked drama and was lackluster, especially on the short tracks. 

Since the unveiling of the Next-Gen cars in the 2020 season, the drivers of the Cup Series have lamented the lack of intrigue in the races on the short-track packages. The races on the intermediate tracks have undergone a huge transformation due to the Next-Gen cars. Consequently, a similar grumble echoed in the ongoing season, and as the season drew its curtains, Denny Hamlin spilled the beans on the trouble of NASCAR.

Denny Hamlin delivers his stance on the degrading short-track packages

Very few drivers have found themselves at loggerheads with NASCAR, as Denny Hamlin has. As one of the most vocal drivers, the No.11 Toyota driver does not shy away from speaking his mind, chastising the authorities for their lapse of judgment, and pointing out the grey areas of the sport. 

Denny Hamlin in one of his podcast episodes, pleaded that NASCAR needs to give up the horsepower of the cars, in order to make the sport more enticing. Having said that, Hamlin reiterated the same concerns as NASCAR gears up for the upcoming season announcing its new schedule and urging the authorities to undergo technical reconfiguration. 

In a video posted by veteran NASCAR journalist, Matt Weaver on Twitter, Hamlin expressed on the degrading short track package, “I’m just not going to put a whole lot of this on the car. We’ve continued to cut horsepower. The grip on the car at short tracks is a byproduct of having wider tires and less horsepower.”

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“In a cost-cutting measure, we’ve continued to cut horsepower which has led to shifting and it’s led to less power and more grip on the short tracks, which has made the racing bad. We can fiddle with the car and aerodynamics until we spend all the millions of dollars in our pockets but it’s not going to change it until you change either the grip or the power under the hood.”

Hendrick Motorsports prodigy laments the same tune as Denny Hamlin

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Although the Next-Gen cars were touted as one of the safest configurations in the world of racing, without compromising the thrills of speed. However, the promises fell apart, after a series of misfortunes struck the drivers on the tracks. Moreover, the reduction of horsepower added to the woes of shifting in the cars.

Singing the same tune as Denny Hamlin, Hendrick Motorsports prodigy William Byron also expressed his affiliation for an increased horsepower of the cars. In NASCAR’s Roundtable, Byron expressed, “I was watching a lot of races in 2014. Like 2013-2014 was when I was just getting into the race car. They had the 850 horsepower I think it was, and they had the pretty tall spoiler [helping with grip]. And I thought the racing was awesome at Martinsville. And even the ‘07-’08 one when the cars had a lot of horsepower.”

“I just thought that those were the good races to me because you saw lunges off the corner. Maybe the shifting is doing the same thing. But I feel if you eliminate the shifting and you had more horsepower on the short tracks, you could have something that would create that spinning the tires but staying the same gear to do it.”

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Nevertheless, with the 2023 season coming to a conclusion, it is to be seen if NASCAR introduces any transformation, in the technical build-up in the car, or will the drivers suffer for a third year in the Next-Gen cars.